We've made it and we're at least good for the next three months without anyone wondering what we are doing here. We have a house that we can always return to. We have a place to cook food and we have the most basic stuff, like a bed and some dishes and cutlery. It has been a very interesting week. We have met many people, eaten lots of Polish food, experienced a Polish holiday and visited an attraction. At the same time, I have had plenty of opportunity to do absolutely nothing. It's been pretty terrible, on the lazy front, but maybe it's good for me. Okay, let me tell you about how this week has gone.
The first night we learned how uncompatible our electrical devices are with their outlets because Trevor blew our fuse by putting the power bar into the wall without a transformer. No worries, my uncle is an electrician. We decided to wait until the next day (since we were going to sleep already). Day two in Poland we found out how far Centrum was, downtown. Our house is only 3 stops of the metro away from downtown. We walked around a bit, but it rained on us so we headed back and waited for our family to get off work. They were to come by to help us get a plan for Trevor's cell phone. When they arrived we told them about our lack of electricity (thank goodness for headlamps, because at this point the sun had set.) There was a bit of panic and very innovative uncle was able to fix the problem temporarily saying that we better not stick anything else into the outlets. There would be no need to fear. We headed out back to Centrum where we found out that had we walked South rather than North we would have seen a giant mall rather than just little shops. They also explained to us the Palac Kultury i Nauki (translated the Palace of Culture and Knowledge) that has within it 2 theatres, a pool, a museum and a movie theatre! That might not be all, but I'm not sure. We also found out where we would be getting internet for the next little while. They have a store called Empik (it looks like a Chapters) with wireless. We then headed back to their house for a little while and then headed back to ours. They are 1 metro stop away from us. Day 3 we went to Empik where Trevor got some work done. I actually went after him, staying at home to be lazy that day. We experienced the Polish McDonalds this day, which was actually almost identical if not even better than at home! This is going to be a good place ;) Anyways, I decided to return before Trevor because my uncle was coming over to fix our fuse. He came over and we had a chat and then he invited us over to their house again. So off I went and phoned Trevor to meet us there. It was a bit quiet over there. My cousin, or second cousin or whatever position he is at (my uncle is actually my mom's cousin) was there too. It's been a bit awkward with the new family, but nothing unexpected. Their English is incredible so when Trevor's over they tend to talk in English more. It's funny because both my uncle and Trevor are in the same position. Each only has one language, though understands the odd word in the other. Everyone else knows much more English and can converse. I have been labeled as a walking dictionary since I know more in both languages than anyone else, though I have failed the odd time because my Polish is good, but not that good. English though is starting to slip. My brain is definitely getting some exercise! This night was especially entertaining because my family got to experience a conversation between my mom and I. They thought it was absolutely hilarious how I spoke to my mom in English while she spoke to me in Polish. I'm sure some of you have found that hilarious too. The next day as a group we went to see This Is It. The theatre that we went to was a lot more flat than our theatres, but otherwise, not much different. This was the most exciting part of Halloween. Trevor missed Halloween back home. The following day was the day we had come for. All Saint's Day. Here, everyone goes to the cemeteries and goes to see the gravesites of their relatives on this day. It's a huge occasion. The cemeteries are packed and they sell candle holders and huge flowers leading up to the cemeteries. It was incredible to see. We went to my grandma's site first and then off to my Grandpa's parents. We met my Grandpa's brother and his wife. They are now filling in as my grandparents while we're in Poland. It was incredible how many people were there. The flowers that they bring are mostly chrysanthemums and they bring them in pots. The flowers are massive (two feet high and two feet wide). The gravesites are not like in Canada. They have tomb like structures that stick out of the ground. It looks like marble coffins everywhere. On these they place the massive flowers and candles. At night the candles look amazing. Here in Poland they believe it's extremely important to remember their dead. After our cemetery visit we were invited to late lunch at my aunt's mom's house. Here we met my aunt's siblings and their families and ate a traditional Polish meal. Included in this meal was tripe soup which I had always heard about but never tried. Reluctantly I tried it and it was very tasty. Trevor had no problem with eating intestines. After we had our fill here we ended up going over to my Grandpa's brother's house for another meal. The idea of losing weight was definitely lost this day. We looked at some pictures from 1966 of my mom, Grandpa and uncle. It was great. The next day was uneventful. The following day we spent time with my Grandpa's brother and his wife and we went over to the Stare Miasto (old town) to walk around, as well as visited my mom's old home and then back to their house for food. Homes here are mostly apartments and even the houses appear to be town houses. I think if you want to see a house, you have to get outside of Warsaw. I find Warsaw to be very Americanized. There are a lot of the typical stores like H&M, Sephora, and others and a lot of things you can buy here are American brand like soaps and shampoos. They only really big difference I see is that everything is written in Polish (which also makes my brain work because I can read but somewhere at a Grade 2 level where words are not yet familiar so I have to sound everything out. It's extremely tedious but good because after some time it will be faster.) I will write again soon.
SMILEJ
Amanda
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